
Glass^£._i_i2^ 



/ 



/ ^ 



Washington in Domestic Life. 
From Original Letters and Manu- 
scripts. By Richard Rush. 



P U I L A U E L P II I A : J . B . L 1 P P I N C O T T AND CO. 

1857. 



• Ti 'J 



H'YUIGIIT ENTEKED ACCORDING TO LAW. 



Gentlemen : — 

In confiding- to your house the pubHcation of 
this brief paper on some points in the character of 
Washington, I beg leave to say, that for any defi- 
ciency in the cost of publishing, after all your 
charges in having it fitly done are defrayed, I will 
be responsible. 

And in tlio very remote probability of the sale 
of a production so limited as this, in the face of a 
thousand better thincs on Washington's character 
already before the world, ever yielding anything 
in the way of profit after your proper expendi- 
tures are all satisfied, it will go, however small, to 



VI 

the Washington Monument Fund, existing in the 
metropolis of our country. 
I am, gentlemen. 

Your very faithful 

And obedient servant, 

IIICHARD RUSH. 

Sydenham, near Philadelphia, February 28, 1857. 



To Messrs. 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT AND CO., 

Publishers, 

Philadelphia. 



TO 



CHAULES J. INGERSOLL 



This literary trifle is hardly worth a dedication ; 
yet it has dared to touch, though with incompetent 
hands, a high subject, and, trifle as it is, I dedi- 
cate it to you. At an agreeable little dinner at 
your table lately, where we had the new A"ice-Pre- 
sident, Mr. Breckenridge, whose maternal stock, 
the Stanhope Smiths and Witherspoons, so rich 
in intellect, we knew at Princeton, you said we 
had been friends for upwards of sixty years. You 
were right, for we were merry boys together in 



VI 11 



Philadelphia before our college days at Princeton ; 
and I may here add, that our friendship never has 
been interrupted. 

RICHARD RUSH. 



INTP.ODUCTOP.Y EXPLANATION. 



The manuscript or paper here published was 
prepared from a collection of original letters from 
General Washington on matters, for the most 
part, purely domestic and personal, addressed to 
Colonel Tobias Lear, his private Secretary for 
a part of the time he was President; and then, 
and during periods much longer, his confidential 
friend. They came into my hands through the 
voluntary kindness of Mrs. Lear, of the city of 
Washington, the estimable relict of Colonel Lear, 
and niece of Mrs. Washington, whose friendship 
it was my good lot and that of my family to en- 
joy; as we did that of Colonel Lear while he 
lived. The latter died in Washington in 1816. 
Mrs. Lear first informed me of these letters ten 



X INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATION. 

or twelve years ago when in Washington, and 
offered them to my perusal and examination, tell- 
ins: me to take them home and retain them as 
long as I chose, and use them as I thought best, 
for she knew I would not abuse this privilege. I 
brought them home as requested, being then too 
much engaged in the business of the Smithsonian 
Institution as one of the Regents on its first or- 
ganization, to examine them while in Washing- 
ton. She afterwards read, approved, and for some 
time had in her hands the paper I drew up from 
them. 

It consisted of notices of, and extracts from 
these original letters, the matter being abridged, 
connecting links used, and omissions made where 
the great author himself marked them private 
or from parts otherwise not necessary to go be- 
fore the world. So guarded and prepared, and 
with a commentary interwoven, Mrs. Lear left its 
publication to my discretion. I returned the ori- 
ginal letters, in number more than thirty, in the 
state I received them from her. I never allowed 



INTEODUCTORY EXPLANATION. XI 

any one of them to be copied ; but gave one away, 
or two, for I am not at this day certain which, to 
Mr. Polk while he was President of the United 
States, having first asked and obtained Mrs. Lear's 
consent for that purpose. She also gave me two 
of them not very long before her decease, which 
I prize the more as her gift. I have other ori- 
ginal letters from the same immortal source, the 
valued donation in 1830, of the son of Colonel 
Lear, Lincoln Lear, Esquire. 

This excellent lady, who long honored me wdth 
her friendship and confidence in the above and 
other ways, after surviving Colonel Lear forty 
years, died last December in Washington. There 
she had continued to live as his widow; being all 
this time in possession of, and as I supposed own- 
ing, these original letters. There she lived, beloved 
as a pattern of the Christian virtues, and enjoying 
the esteem of the circle around her as an interest- 
ing relict of days becoming historical ; but ever ele- 
vating in the associations they recall. Now that 
she is gone, I am induced to give to the public 



Xll INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATION. 

the paper in question. In doing so I have the 
best grounds for believing that I perform an act 
that woukl have been grateful to her were she 
living. She was fully informed of my intention 
to publish it and could not but be sensible that 
the long respect and affectionate attachment of 
General AVashington which her husband enjoyed, 
as so indelibly stamped upon these letters, is a 
record of his probity, capacity, and sterling worth, 
than which none could ever be more precious, or 
be likely to endure longer. This consideration it 
might be thought affects only the descendants of 
Colonel Lear or others devoted to his memory ; 
but I have ventured to think that the publica- 
tion may not be wholly unacceptable on broader 
grounds./ Nothing, indeed, in authentic connection 
with Washington's great name can ever be un- 
welcome to the American people;'" and although 
it may have happened that some few of these let- 
ters have heretofore found their way into print in 
whole or in part, the number, as far as was known 
to Mrs. Lear, is believed to be very small. Hence 



INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATION, XIU 

the publication need not be forborne on that ac- 
count; move especially if it should bo found to 
carry with it the slightest general interest in the 
form now presented. 

In reo-ard to the narrative of Arnold's treason 
as given by the great Chief at his table at Mount 
Vernon and afterwards w^ritten down by Colonel 
Lear, which I have appended to the synopsis of 
the letters, it was not within Mrs. Lear's know- 
ledge, nor is it within mine at present, that it has 
ever been in print before. 

RICHAED RUSH. 

Sydenham, near PniLADELrniA, February, 1857. 



WASHINGTON 



DOMESTIC LIFE 



When first I opened and cursorily read the 
original letters from General Washington, men- 
tioned in the foregoing introductory explanation, 
and noticed the domestic topics which ran so 
largely through them, they struck me as pos- 
sessing peculiar interest. They were of A'alue as 
coming from that venerated source, and doubly 
so, considering how little is known, through his 
own correspondence, of his domestic life ; scarcely, 
in fact, any of its details. Reading the letters 
again, I found the matter to be somewhat more 
varied than my first eager inspection of them, as 



16 WASHINGTON 

hastily unfolded, had led me to suppose ; but they 
were desultory, and much broken as to dates. 
The occasional mixture of other matter, especially 
public matter, with the domestic topics, did not 
diminish the interest of the letters, but the con- 
trary. In this publication I follow the order of 
the dates. Where wide chasms occur, T have 
merely supplied a link in the chain by an expla- 
natory remark here and there, in aid of the reader, 
not hazarding other remarks until all the letters 
are mentioned. Thus much as to the plan. I 
proceed to speak of the letters themselves. 

The first in date is of the fifth of September, 
1790. It is w^-itten in Philadelphia, where Wash- 
ington had just then arrived from New York, Mr. 
Lear, as may be inferred from it, being in New 
York. lie states that he would proceed onward 
to Mount Vernon on the day following if Mrs. 
Washington's health would permit, as she had 
been indisposed since their arrival in Philadel- 
phia ; that before he arrived, the city corporation 
had taken the house of Mr. Robert Morris for his 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 17 

residence, but that it would not be sufficiently 
commodious without additions. 

[This house was in Market Street on the 
south side near Sixth Street. The market 
house buildings then stopped at Fourth 
Street ; the town in this street extended 
westward scarcely as far as Ninth Street ; 
good private dwellings were seen above 
Fifth Street; Mr. Morris's was perhaps 
the best ; the garden was well inclosed by 
a wall.] 

He describes the house, remarking that even with 
the proposed additions the gentlemen of his family 
would have to go into the third story, where also 
Mr. Lear and Mrs. Lear would have to go ; and 
that there would be no place for his own study 
and dressing-room but in the back building; 
there are good stables, and the coach-house would 
hold his carriages ; but his coachmen and postil- 
ions would have to sleep over the stable where 
there was no fireplace, though the room might 



18 WASHINGTON 

be warmed by a stove. The other servants could 
sleep in the house, he adds, if, in addition to 
the present accommodations, a servants' hall were 
built with one or two lodging-rooms over it. 
These are samples of the particularity with which 
he wTites. He tells Mr. Lear that he had left 
his coach and harness with the coachmaker, Mr. 
Clarke, in Philadelphia, for repairs, and requests 
him to see that they are well done and at the time 
appointed. The residue of the letter relates to 
the bringing on of his servants from New York. 
It begins "Dear Sir," and after saying that Mrs. 
Washington joins with him in best washes to Mrs. 
Lear, concludes, " I am sincerely and affectionately 
yours, Geo. Washington." The letter fills the 
four pages of a sheet of letter paper in his com- 
pact but bold and legible hand, with a few inter- 
lineations made very distinctly. 

The next letter is dated Mount Vernon, Sep- 
tember 20, 1 790. After saying a few words about 
Mr. Morris's house, he reverts to the subject of 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 19 

bringing- his servants from New York to Phila- 
delphia, naming several of them, but doubting the 
expediency of bringing all by sea, especially the 
upper servants. The steward and his wife are 
mentioned as perhaps best not to be brought at 
all ; he has no wish to part with them : first, be- 
cause he does not like to be changing ; and second- 
ly, because he did not know how to supply their 
places, but was much mistaken if the expenses of 
the second table, where the steward presided, had 
not greatly exceeded the proper mark ; he sus- 
pected there was nothing brought to his own table 
of liquors, fruit, or other things, that had not been 
used as profusely at the steward's ; that if his sus- 
picions were unfounded he should be sorry for 
having entertained them ; and if not, it was at 
least questionable whether any successor of * * * 
* * * might not do the same thing, in which case 
there might be a change without a benefit. He 
leaves it with Mr. Lear whether to retain him or 
not, provided he thought him honest, of which he 
would be better able to judge on comparing his 



20 WASHINGTON 

accounts with those of his former steward, which 
he (the General) had not done. He conckides, 
"with sincere regard and affection, I am yours, 
Geo. Washington," 

[At this epoch, the seat of government had 
just been removed from New York to 
Philadelphia, making it necessary for Ge- 
neral Washington to establish himself in 
the latter city, which leads him into the 
details given and to follow.] 

The third letter is from Mount Vernon, Sep- 
tember 27, 1790. It begins by saying that since 
his last, the date of which is not recollected, as he 
kept no copies of these letters, two had been re- 
ceived from Mr. Lear, of which he gives the dates. 
He approves of his mode of removing the furni- 
ture, and asks, "How have you disposed of the 
Pagoda '? It is a delicate piece of stuff, and will 
require to be handled tenderly." 

Alluding to the house in which he had lived in 



IX DOMESTIC LIFE. 21 

New York, the lease of which was unexpired, he 
says that he expected ***** woukl endeavor 
to impose his own terms when he found he could 
not get it off his hands ; we are in his power and 
he must do what he pleases with us. As the 
" Lustre" is paid for and securely packed up, and 
may suit the largest drawing-room at Mr. Morris's 
house in Philadelphia, he does not incline to part 
with it ; there is a mangle in the kitchen, which 
Mrs. Morris proposes to leave, taking his mangle 
instead ; [a mangle was a machine for washing or 
pressing, then in use, and a fixture, I think ;] 
he would not ohject provided his was as good, 
but not if he would be the gainer by exchang- 
ing. He concludes, Mrs. Washington and all 
the family joining in best wishes to Mrs. Lear 
and himself, " I am your sincere friend and affec- 
tionate servant," signing his name as before. 

The next is dated Mount Vernon, October 3, 
1790. In this letter he refers to the declaration 
of the ministers of Britain and Spain as published 



22 WASHINGTON 

in the newspapers,* and requests Mr. Lear to give 
him the earliest information of these or any other 
interesting matters, beyond what the newspapers 
say ; remarking that Mr. Jefferson's absence from 
New York [Mr. Jefferson was then Secretary of 
State] might be the means of delaying the receipt 
of official advices to him longer than usual. He 
requests Mr. Lear to use his endeavors for ascer- 
taining the best schools in Philadelphia with a 
view to placing Washington Custis, Mrs. Wash- 
ington's grandson, at the best. If the college is 
under good regulations, and they have proper 
tutors to prepare boys of his standing for the 
higher branches of education, he makes a qua?re 
if it would not be better to put him there at once, 
the presumption being that a system may prevail 
there by which the gradations are better con- 
nected than in schools which have no correspond- 
ence with each other. Adverting again to his 

* Alluding probably to the Nootka Sound controversy then 
pending between these courts. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 23 

servants, he reminds Mr. Lear that no mention 
had been made of John's wife, and asks what he 
understands to be her plans. He incloses a letter 
from John to her, and another from James to his 
" del Toboso." [These were four of his black 
servants,] He requests him when able to get at 
Count d'Estaing's letters to send him a transcript 
of what he says of a bust he had sent him of 
Neckar, together with a number of prints of Nec- 
kar, and of the Marquis la Fayette ; and concludes 
in the same cordial and affectionate style as before. 

Mount Vernon, October 10, 1790. This is next 
in date. The early parts of this letter have refer- 
ence to the steps for removing his furniture and 
servants from New York ; to the getting rid of 
the house still upon his hands there, and to the 
proper care and instruction of his niece. Miss Har- 
riet Washington, when he should be established 
in Philadelphia. Referring again to Washington 
Custis's education, whom he had adopted as a son 
and in whom he appears to have taken great in- 



24: WASHINGTON 

terest,* lie wishes inquiry to be made as to the 
higher branches taught at the college with a view 
to placing his nephews, George and Lawrence 
Washington, at that Institution in Philadelphia. 
He speaks very kindly of these nephews, and of 
their desire for improvement. Having left the 
languages, they are engaged, he adds, under Mr. 
Harrow, in Alexandria, in the study of the mathe- 
matics and learning French. Concludes as usual. 

Next comes one from Mount Vernon of Octo- 
ber 27, 1790. He tells INIr. Lear that on his 
return from a twelve days' excursion up the Poto- 
mac, he finds three letters from him, which he 

* The affectionate interest General Washington took in this 
adopted son is well known. Mr. Custis still lives (185G) and 
still dispenses the hospitalities of Arlington, his estate and 
home in Yirginia near the city of Washington ; which it over- 
looks from its beautiful heights. His house exhibits paintings, 
illustrative of our revolutionary annals, the work of his ama- 
teur pencil; whilst the productions of his patriotic pen have 
charmed the public by the anecdotes they record in attractive 
ways of the personal, rural, and other habits of the great Chief. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 25 

acknowledges under their dates, and is very glad 
to learn that he had arrived in Philadelphia, and 
that the servants and furniture had got safely 
there. It is equally agreeable to him that the 
steward and his wife had come. He leaves to 
Mr. L. the arrangement of the furniture, with re- 
marks of his own as to its disposition in some of 
the rooms ; and wishes the rent of Mr. Morris's 
house to be fixed before the day of his going into 
it. He desired to pay a just value ; more he had 
no idea would be asked ; but intimates his fears 
that the committee [of the city councils of Phila- 
delphia is probably meant] were holding back 
under an intention that the rent should be paid 
by the public, to which he would not consent. It 
would be best, he thinks, if all the servants could 
be accommodated without using the loft over the 
stable, as no orders he could give them would pre- 
vent their carrying lights there, if they were to 
use it as lodgers. By return of the hand that 
takes this and other letters from liim to the Alex- 
andria post-office, he hopes to receive later dates 

4 



26 WASHINGTON 

from Mr. Lear, and, possibly, something more 
indicative of peace or war between Spain and 
England ; and concludes, " I am your affectionate 
friend, Geo. Wasliington." 

Mount Vernon, October 31, 1790, is the next 
date. After expressing concern lest his house in 
Philadelphia should not be ready in time, and 
pointing out arrangements for his journey to 
Philadelphia, he speaks again of his carriage at 
the coachmakcr's in Philadelphia. He thinks that 
a wreath round the crests on the panels would 
be more correspondent with the Seasons [allego- 
rical painting's probably in medallion], which were 
to remain there, than the motto ; and that the 
motto might be put on the plates of the harness, 
but leaA'CS it to Mr. Lear and the coachmaker to 
adopt which they thought best when the whole 
was looked at, as he could not himself see it as 
a whole. He speaks of the boarding schools in 
Philadelphia, and is anxious that full and careful 
inquiry be made with a view to securing proper 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 27 

advantages in the edncation of his niece, bnt to 
be made in a way not to give any expectation 
of a preference between rival seminaries, as he 
had come to no decision in regard to his niece. 
As his femily on remonng to Philadelphia will 
have new connections to form with tradespeople, 
he reqncsts Mr. Lear to find ont those in each 
branch who stand highest for skill and foir deal- 
ing, saying it is better to be slow in choosing 
than be nnder any necessity of changing. Con- 
cludes "with affectionate regards I am your sin- 
cere friend, G. AV." 

Mount Vernon, November 7, 1790. A letter 
full of minute details. It sets out with express- 
ing his renewed anxiety respecting the education 
of his adopted son Washington Custis, remarking 
that if the schools in the college are under good 
masters, and are as fit for boys of his age [he was 
probably about eight at this time, for we were 
schoolmates in Philadelphia at the dates of the 
earliest of these letters] as a private school would 



28 WASHINGTON 

bo, he is still of opinion lie had better be placed 
there in the first instance; but the propriety of 
the step will depend: 1. Upon the character and 
ability of the masters ; 2. Upon the police and dis- 
cipline of the school ; and thirdly, upon the num- 
ber of the pupils. If there be too many pupils, 
justice cannot be done to them whatever the 
ability of the masters, adding that what ought 
to be the due proportion is in some measure 
matter of opinion, but that an extreme must be 
obvious to all. He leaves it with Mr. Lear to de- 
cide that point if nothing else should be finally 
resolved upon by himself before he reaches Phila- 
delphia. He next incloses a letter from Mr. 
Gouverneur Morris, then in Paris [but not our 
minister at the French court at that time] with 
the bill of charges for certain articles which he had 
requested him to send from Paris. The plated 
ware far exceeds in price the utmost bounds 
of his calculation ; but as he is persuaded Mr. 
Morris had only done what he thought right, he 
requests Mr. Lear to make immediate payment 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 29 

in manner as he points ont. Among the articles 
of this plated ware, were wine coolers, for hold- 
ing four decanters of cut glass, also sent by Mr. 
Morris ; and he seems as little satisfied with the 
size and fashion of these coolers, from the descrip- 
tion he has received of them, as with their nncx- 
pected cost. He thinks more appropriate ones of 
real silver might be made, the pattern being dif- 
ferent and work lighter, giving his own ideas of a 
pattern, and a little draft of it, and requesting Mr. 
Lear to talk to a silversmith on the matter, re- 
marking that perhaps those sent by Mr. Morris 
might give hints for the pattern ; which, if not 
found too heavy, as he had not yet seen them, 
might after all answer. He approves of the 
Pagoda's standing in the smallest drawing-room 
where Mr. Lear had placed it. Whether the green 
curtain or a new yellow one is to be used for the 
staircase window in the hall, may depend on his 
getting an exact match in color for the former; in 
things of this sort one would not regard a small 
additional expense, to save, the eye from bad con- 



30 WASHINGTON 

trasts. He expresses the hope that his study will 
be in readiness by the time he arrives, and that 
the rubbish and other litter made by those " men 
of mortar and the carpenters," wall be removed so 
that the yard may be made and kept as clean as 
the parlor. This, he says, is essential, as, by the 
alterations made in the house, the back rooms had 
become the best and there was an uninterrupted 
view from them into the yard, especially from the 
dining-room. He concludes by saying that as 
Mrs. Washington writes to Mrs. Lear, he would 
only add his best wishes for her and aifectionate 
regards for himself, "being your sincere friend, 
G. W." 

Mount Vernon, November 12, 1790. This let- 
ter is a duplicate written to inform Mr. Lear that 
he depended upon X> * * * * 's coach, horses, and 
driver, for taking on the children to Philadelphia. 
His reasons for writing the duplicate was, that 
Giles (one of his servants), who was sent on AVed- 
nesday to Alexandria with his first letter with 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 31 

directions that if the stage had gone to pursue it 
to Georgetown so as to overtake the mail, had put 
the letter into the hands of a passenger, who " all 
but forced it from him," so anxious was this pas- 
senger to do an obliging thing, as he " knew Gene- 
ral Washington." This passenger told his name, 
but it was " so comical," he could not recollect it. 
This was Giles's story ; and the General adds that 
as he knew what little dependence was to be 
placed on the punctual conveyance of letters by a 
private hand, he writes this duplicate by post to 
repeat his request that Mr. Lear will inform him, 
by return of post, what he has to expect with cer- 
tainty/ as to the coach hired for taking on a part of 
his family to Philadelphia. His house is full of 
company, he adds, and concludes as usual. 

Mount Vernon, November 14, 1790. This let- 
ter manifests his concern about the house in Phila- 
delphia ; for, besides that it is still unfinished, the 
rent, he says, has not yet been fixed, though he 
has long since wished it ; he is at a loss to under- 



32 WASHINGTON 

stand it all. He hopes that the additions and 
alterations made on his acconnt whilst neat, have 
not been in an extravagant style. The latter 
would not only be contrary to his wishes but re- 
pugnant to his interest and convenience, as it 
would be the means of keeping him from the use 
and comforts of the house until a later day; and 
because the furniture and everything else must 
then be in accordance with its expensive finish, 
which would not agree with his present furniture, 
and he had no wish to be taxed to suit the taste of 
others. The letter is of more length than usual 
and marked "private;" being, w^ith one other, the 
only ones in the collection so marked. I will, 
therefore, notice its contents no further than barely 
to add, that in a part where he alludes to the still 
possible intention of making the public in Phila- 
delphia pay his rent, his terms of dissent become 
very emphatic. In reference to his coach, he 
would rather have heard that, as repaired, it 
was '■'■plain and elegant" tlian " rich and elegant." 
Conclusion as usual. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 33 

Mount Vernon, Nov. 17, 1790. This, he says, 
is a very bad day. He is just setting off for Alex- 
andria to a dinner given to him by the citizens of 
that place. The caps (jockey caps) of Giles and 
Paris (two of his postilions) being so much worn 
that they will be untit for use by the time he has 
completed his journey to Philadelphia, he requests 
that new ones may be made, the tassels to be of 
better quality than the old ones ; and that a new 
set of harness may be made for the leaders, wdth a 
postilion saddle ; the saddle-cloth of which to be 
like the hammer-cloth, that all may be of a piece 
when necessary to use six horses. [This he some- 
times did in travelling.] The letter concludes as 
usual. 

"Spurriers," November 23, 1790. 

[He is now on his journey to Philadelphia 
in his own travelling carriage with Mrs. 
Washington; the children, and the servants 
in attendance on the children, being in the 
stage-coach hired for the occasion.] 



34 WASHINGTON 

He dates from this tavern twelve or fourteen miles 
south of Baltimore. The roads, he says, are in- 
fiimous — no hope of reaching- Baltimore that night, 
as they had not yet gone to dinner but were wait- 
ing for it. The letter is only of a few lines, and 
evidently written in haste, though he never makes 
apologies on that account. 

Georgetown, March 28, 179L 

[The General and family arrived in Philadel- 
phia and took possession of Mr. Morris's 
house. The session of Congress passed 
over. It was the short session. He was 
now on his return to Mount Vernon, hav- 
ing reached the above town on the Mary- 
land side of the Potomac, from which he 
dates.] 

This letter is on his private affairs. He expresses 
dissatisfaction at the conduct of ***** * one 

of his agents in the State of , in letting out 

his property and receiving his rents ; he is too well 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 85 

acquainted, he says, with facts that hear upon the 
case to he imposed upon by the tale he tells ; and 
even his own letter proves him to be what he 
would not call him. 

Mount Vernon, April 3, 1791. This letter is 
also in part on his private affairs. It contains 
further complaints of this agent. In the closing 
parts of it [there being at this time growing 
apprehensions of trouble with tlio Indians] he 
makes the remark, that until we could restrain 
the turbulence and disorderly conduct of our own 
borderers, it would be in vain he feared to expect 
peace with the Indians ; or that they would govern 
their own people better than we did ours. 

[It was in the following autumn that General 
St, Clair's army was defeated by them in 
the neighborhood of the Miami Villages.] 

Mount Vernon, April 6, 1791. A short letter. 
It mentions his intention of continuing his journey 



86 WASHINGTON 

southward tlie next day ; his horses being well re- 
cruited, he hopes they will go on better than they 
have come from Philadelphia, He incloses Mr. 
l^ear, who remains in Philadelphia, some letters to 
be put on tile, and requests him to pay a man who 
had been w^orking in the garden. 

[The journey southward next day was the 
commencement of his tour to the Southern 
States, having made one into the Northern 
States before he became President. Hav- 
ing completed his tour, he passed several 
days in Georgetown to execute the powers 
vested in him for fixing on a place for 
the permanent seat of government for the 
United States under the new constitution.] 

Richmond, April 12, 1791. This is a letter of 
four closely written pages, mainly, though not ex- 
clusively, about his servants and the difficulties 
with them under the non-slavery laws of Phila- 
delphia; but as he requests that the knowledge of 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 37 

its contents and tlie sentiments lie expresses may 
be confined to Mrs. Lear and Mrs, Washington, I 
notice no more of it. 

Savannah, May 13, 1791. He here says that 
the continual hurry into ^yhicll he was thrown by 
entertainments, visits, and ceremonies in the course 
of his southern tour, left him scarcely a moment 
he could call his own. He gives directions as to 
where his letters are to be sent that they may 
strike him at the proper points whilst travelling ; 
his horses are much worn down, he says, by the 
bad roads, especially the two he bought just before 
leaving Philadelphia, " and my old white horse." 

Fredericksburg, Virginia, June 12, 1791. He 
informs Mr. Lear that he had reached this place 
the day preceding, and expected to get back to 
Mount Vernon the day following. He would 
remain there until the 27th, which was the day 
appointed for him to meet the commissioners at 
Georgetown to fix on the spot for the public 



WASHINGTON 



buildings to be erected in the new Federal City, 
and writes to give INIr. Lear this foreknowledge of 
his movements. 



Mount Vernon, June 15, 1791. The early x")art 
of this letter relates to certain blank commissions 
signed and left with Mr. Lear to be filled up under 
the direction and advice of the Secretary of the 
Treasury. He next adverts to a vacancy in one of 
the United States judgeships — that of the district 
of Pennsylvania — by the death of the late incum- 
bent. Some have applied, he says, for the appoint- 
ment, and others will. In reference to this and 
other offices that will be vacant (naming them), he 
wishes Mr. Lear to get the best information he 
can as to those who it is thought would fill them 
" with the greatest ability and integrity." Several 
meritorious persons, he adds, have already been 
brought to his view. 

He is glad to hear that the affairs of his house- 
hold in Philadelphia go on so well, and tells Mr. 
Lear it might not be improper for him to hint how 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 39 

foolish it would be in the servants left there to 
enter into any combinations for supplanting those 
in authority [meaning the upper servants]. The 
attempt would be futile, and must recoil upon 
themselves ; and next, admitting that they were 
to make the lives of the present steward and 
housekeeper so uneasy as to induce them to quit, 
others would be got, and such, too, as would be 
equally if not more rigid in exacting the duty re- 
quired of the servants below them ; the steward 
and housekeeper were indispensably necessary in 
taking trouble off of Mrs. Washington's hands and 
his own, and would be supported in the line of 
their duty, whilst any attempt to counteract them 
would be considered as the strongest evidence the 
other servants could give of their unworthiness. A 
good and faithful servant, he adds, was never afraid 
of having his conduct looked into, but the reverse. 

Mount Vernon, June 19, 1791. He acknow- 
ledges the receipt of several letters from Mr. Lear, 
and approves what he has done. He tells him 



40 WASHINGTON 

that in the fall he shall want blankets for his ser- 
vants and people* at Mount Vernon ; and the 
summer being the best time for buying them, he 
wishes inquiry to be made on this subject, saying 
he should want about two hundred. He wants to 
see Paine's answer to Burke's pamphlet on the 
French Revolution, and requests it may be sent to 
him. He says that " Paris" has grown to be so 
lazy and self-willed that John, the coachman, says 
he has no sort of government of him, as he did 
nothing that he was told to do, and everything he 
was not. The General adds that his incapacity as 
a postilion was such that he had determined to 
leave him behind when returning to Philadelphia, 
which would make one or two boys necessary in 
his stable at that place, as assistants, and asks 
whether it might not be possible to find emigrant 
Germans to answer the purpose. He concludes, 
" Be assured of the esteem and regard of yours 
affectionately, G. W." 

* The latter mean liis slaves. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 41 

Mount Vernon, September 26, 1791. He refers 
to the house in Philadelpliia ; says tliat he never 
expressed any dissatisfaction at want of accommo- 
dation in it since he got rid of the workmen ; and 
that that supposition must not be adduced as a 
motive for causing* a puhlic edifice to be built for 
his use or occupancy ; that he has no intention of 
interfering witli the poUtics of Pennsylvania, or 
the household accommodations of his successors in 
the Presidency ; but that, for himself, pers6nally, 
he had wholly declined living in any pubhc build- 
ing. This subject appears to have engaged some 
of his sensibility, and he tells Mr. Lear he is glad 
to learn he has put in waiting his views in regard 
to it, as that will protect him against misconcep- 
tion on any point. 

Mount Vernon, October 7, 1791. He writes 
again about the blankets ; some have been offered 
to him in Alexandria, but he likes neither the size 
nor price, and speaks of those to be had in Phila- 
delphia as intolerably narrow. He cannot think 



42 WASHINGTON 

of being disappointed in liis supply, as his people 
would suffer in the ensuing winter. He wants 
one hundred of the largest size and best quality, 
and one hundred of the middle size but good in 
quality. I recollect asking you if among my 
pamphlets you had seen the journal of my tour 
to the French (the word position was probably 
omitted here) on La heaiif in the year 1753. I 
understood you no ; but Mrs. Washington thinks 
you said yes. Pray decide the point for us — I 
have searched in vain for it here. 

Mount Vernon, October 14, 1791. In this let- 
ter he begins by saying he is glad of the intima- 
tion given of the intentions of the minister of 
France [not stated what they are], and pleased 
though distressed at the information that the 24th 
instant is the day for the meeting of Congress. 
He had supposed it to be the 31st, and intended 
to spend Monday and possibly Tuesday in George- 
town ; but now he would endeavor to reach Bla- 
densburg on Monday night and lose no time 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE, 43 

afterwards in pursuing his journey onward to 
Philadelphia, as scarce any time would be left to 
him for preparing his communications when the 
session opeued, if the members were punctual in 
attending. This makes it the more necessary, he 
says, that Mr. Lear should look with accuracy, 
and without delay, into his speeches and the laws 
of the past sessions ; that all might be at hand 
for his own review and consideration. And he 
requests ]Mr. Lear, should anything else have oc- 
curred to him as fit for recommendation or commu- 
nication in his speech to Congress, to note it, that 
it might be ready for his consideration in case it 
should not be among his own memorandums. The 
conclusion is in his usually cordial way. 

This session of Congress passed over. It was 
the long one, and ran into May 1792. I find in 
the collection only three letters to Mr. Lear dated 
in that year. The first is from Mount Vernon, 
July 30, '92, soon after he had left Philadelphia, 
and is familiarly descriptive of his journey home- 



44 WASHTNCrTON 

wards. His horses plagued him a good deal, he 
says, and the sick mare, owing to a dose of physic 
administered the night he reached Chester, was so 
much weakened as to be unable to carry Austin 
[one of the postilions] further than the Susque- 
hannah ; had to be led thence to Hartford, where 
she was left, and two days afterwards, "gave up 
the ghost." As he travelled on, he heard great 
complaints of the Hessian fly, and of rust or mil- 
dew in the wheat, and believed that the damage 
would be great in some places ; but that more was 
said than the case warranted, and on the whole 
the crops would be abundant. On arriving in 
Georgetown, he found many well-conceived plans 
for the public buildings in the new city, and re- 
marks that it was a pleasure to him to find in 
our new country so much architectural ability 
displayed. Concludes, "I am your affectionate 
friend, G. W." 

The second is dated Mount Vernon, September 
21, '92. He tells Mr. Lear that he had written 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 45 

liim but one letter since {UTiving at Mount Ver- 
non, but was on the eve of writing a second when 
his of the 5th of August got to hand, with such 
information of his movements (Mr. Lear having 
been away from Philadelphia) as might now enable 
him to direct a letter to him without danger of 
its " reverberating back." He thanks him for tlie 
information afforded in his letter of the otli of 
August and in another of the 21st of July ; says 
he has nothing agreeable of a domestic nature to 
relate. Poor George [the General is here sup- 
posed to allude to Mr. George Lewis, one of his 
nephews, then staying at Mount Vernon], he fears, 
is not fiir from that place whence no traveller re- 
turns ; he is but tlie shadow of what he was ; has 
not been out of his room, scarcely out of his bed, 
for six weeks ; has intervals of ease which flatter 
us a little, but he, the General, has little hope of 
his surviving the winter. It is so he writes of 
this nephew, adding that the subject gives him 
much distress. Concludes, " with sincere and af- 
fectionate regard I am always your friend, G. W." 



46 WASHINGTON 

The third is dated Mount Vernon, October 1, 
'92. In the expectation that this letter will find 
Mr. Lear again in Philadelpliia, he Avishes him to 
begin in time to compare all his former speeches 
to Congress with the subsequent acts of that body 
that he might see what parts of them passed 
altogether unnoticed or had been only partially 
noticed, that thus he might be enabled to judge 
Avhether any and wliat parts should be brought 
forward again. He requests him also, as before, 
to note everything that may occur to him as fit 
to be noticed in his communication to Congress 
this year, as he desires to have all the materials 
collected for his consideration in preparing his 
speech. He speaks again of the illness of " poor 
George," and says that others of his family are 
unwell. Concludes in his usually kind and afiec- 
tion manner. 

[This session of Congress — the short session — 
came to its regular close on the f3d of March, 
1793.] The General is again at Mount Vernon 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 47 

in April, and writes to Mr. Lear on the 8tli of 
that month on some of his private affairs. He 
tells him that his letter of the ;3d had been re- 
ceived transmitting Mr. ******'§ rental, and 
Mr. ***** 's profession of his inability to dis- 
charge his bond. The latter he thinks more can- 
did than the former, but supposes that he must be 
satisfied with both, knowing he will never get 
better terms from either. He intimates that be- 
fore doing anything with respect to the lands the 
latter had from him, he wishes Mr. Lear to have 
some conversation with * * * * on a point he 
(the General) did not clearly understand, as he 
would not "put it in the power of malice itself 
to charge him with any agency in measures that 
could be tortured into impropriety in this matter." 
In regard to the former person [the same men- 
tioned in his letters of March 28 and April 3, '91, 
as having the charge of some of his property], he 
requests Mr. Lear to endeavor to find out through 
members of Congress, if he can, the name of 
some individual in the State in question who 



48 WASHINGTON 

would be likely to make him a faithful agent, as 
it would not do to leave his concerns in the hands 
q£ * * * * * ^j-^y longer ; he was too dependent, 
he feared (besides other objections to him), for 
his election to the legislature to fix his rents at a 
just medium, or collect them in the manner he 
ought to do. The conclusion of this letter has 
reference to the will of his deceased nephew, Mr. 
George Lewis, who had died at Mount Vernon. 

Mr. Lear had now ceased to be his private 
Secretary ; but the most intimate correspondence 
was still kept up with him. On the 21st of June, 
1793, there is a letter to him from Philadelphia 
[Mr. L. then being in Georgetown], which the 
General writes on purpose to say that he con- 
siders it a very kind and friendly act in him to go 
to Mount Vernon. The letter finishes wdth a few 
lines of allusion to his private afiairs, 

Philadelphia, May 6, 1794. This is a letter 
written to Mr. Lear when tlic latter was in Eng- 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 49 

land. It treats of private matters, and expresses 
his pleasure at the reception he had from the Earl 
of Buclian, Sir John Sinclair, and others in Eng- 
land to whom General AVashington had given him 
letters. He tells him he was much ohliged to 
him for the several communications in his letters, 
and placed great reliance on them ; that the op- 
portunities he derived from mixing with people 
in different Avalks, high and low, and of different 
political sentiments, must have afforded him an 
extensive range for observation and comparison ; 
more so by far than could fall to the lot of a sta- 
tionary person always revolving in a particular 
circle. The General then touches on our home 
affairs. [He was still President, it will be remem- 
bered.] He says that to tell him the British order 
in council of the 8th of June last respecting neu- 
tral vessels had given much discontent in the 
United States ; and that that of the Gth of No- 
vember had thrown the people into a flame, could 
hardly be new to him. In reference to all the 
existing difficulties with . England he tells him 



50 WASHINGTON 

that many measures had been moved in Congress, 
some of which had passed into acts, and others 
were pending ; that among the former was a law 
for fortifying our principal seaports, and another 
for raising an additional corps of eight hundred 
artillery-men for the defence of them and other 
purposes; and that the bills pending were: 1st. 
One to complete our present military establish- 
ment ; 2d. One to raise an army of twenty-five 
thousand men in addition to it ; and 8d. A bill to 
organize, put in training, and hold in readiness at 
a minute's warning a select coi'ps of eighty thou- 
sand militia. He seemed to think that the first 
and last would pass, but that the result of the 
second could not be so well predicted. He men- 
tions the appointment of Mr. Jay as special 
minister to England in the hope of settling all 
our difficulties in a temperate way by fair and 
firm negotiation, and that he would sail in a few 
days, with Mr. John Trumbell as his private 
Secretary ; tells him also of Mr. Randolph's ap- 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 51 

pointment as Secretary of State, and that Mr. 
Bradford, of Pennsylvania, was made Attorney 
General in Mr. Randolph's place. In conclusion, 
he alludes to " little Lincoln" [Mr. Lear's son] and 
his "lottery tickets," which, "poor little fellow!" 
he exclaims, will never be likely to build him a 
baby-house even ; the whole Washington lottery 
business having turned out a bed of thorns rather 
than roses. He terminates the letter by telling 
him that his public avocations will not admit of 
more than a flying trip to Mount Vernon this 
summer, and that this not suiting Mrs. Washing- 
ton he has taken a house in Germantown [the 
vicinity of Philadelphia] to avoid the heat of 
Philadelphia in July and August, and that Mrs. 
Washington, Nelly [one of the Miss Custis's], and 
the rest of the family united with him in every 
good wish for his health, prosperity, and safe re- 
turn ; and he begs him to be " assured of the 
sincerity with which he was and always should be 
his affectionate friend, G. W." 



52 WASHINGTON 

Mount Vernon, August 5, 1795. Mr. Lear 
had got back from England and was now residing 
in Georgetown or its neighborhood. The present 
letter incloses him a power of attorney to vote on 
the General's shares in the Potomac Company at a 
meeting of its stockholders to be held on the day 
following, in Georgetown. He says he would be 
there himself to vote in person if possible; but 
that having sent to the post-office in Alexandria 
every day since Friday for letters without receiv- 
ing any from any of the officers of the govern- 
ment, he might probably receive a great accumu- 
lation of them on the day following [which was 
again Friday, and a post day], to which he would 
have to give his attention and prepare answers. 
It was therefore that he sent the power of attor- 
ney to meet the contingency of his not being pre- 
sent. This power of attorney was in his own 
handwriting. 

Philadelphia, March 13, 1790. There are brief 
letters since the above that touch on private busi- 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 53 

ness. In this of the 13th of March, 1796, alhid- 
ing to his pecuniary affairs, he says, that for the 
few years he has to remain here, the enjoyment of 
less, with more ease and certainty, will be more 
convenient to him, and more desirable; had his 
resources been adequate to it, he would have pur- 
chased the lot and houses in Alexandria which 
Mr. Lear pointed out; but that as his resources 
depended on contingencies that might baffle his 
calculations, he chose to tread on sure ground in 
all his engagements, being as unwilling to embar- 
rass others by uncertain contracts as to be de- 
ceived himself in his expectations. 

Philadelphia, April 29, 1796. This is one of a 
few lines in which he requests Mr. Lear's accept- 
ance of some garden seeds for his garden and 
farm. They were portions of some sent to him 
from England to be planted at Mount Vernon. 

Philadelphia, November 16, 1796. This re- 
lates to the sale of some of his agricultural pro- 



54 WASHINGTON 

duce, and to the disappointments he had experi- 
enced in payments promised to him. 

Mount Vernon, March 25, 1797. The General 
is now relieved from all public duties and cares. 
On the 3d of March of this year he ceased to be 
President by voluntarily retiring from the post 
after writing that farewell address which a British 
historian* has pronounced unequalled by any com- 
position of uninspired wisdom. He is now a pri- 
vate citizen returned to his country estate at Mount 
Vernon on the banks of the Potomac. Mr. Lear is 
in Georgetown. In this letter to him of the 25th 
of March '97, he speaks of plans for repairing and 
refitting his ancient and loved home; but adds 
that in that rural vicinity he finds difficulty in 
getting proper workmen, and requests Mr. Lear's 
aid in procuring some from Georgetown, or the 
new " Federal City," [as Washington at that day 
was usually called.] Skill and dispatch would be 

* Alison. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 55 

necessary qualifications, and he thinks that his 
''''Old Sergeant Cornelius''' might do for one of the 
workmen. It seems that this person had been 
heard of in those parts, and he adds that he 
woukl give him the preference as knowing his 
temper and industry. 

Not long, however, is he permitted to remain a 
private citizen reposing at Mount Vernon amidst 
all its endearments. The next succeeding year 
finds him again summoned by his country to her 
service. At the eager solicitation of the govern- 
ment, the elder Adams then being President, and 
Mr. Adams' own desire being seconded by the 
nation's voice, he was prevailed upon to accept 
the supreme command of the Army during the 
difiiculties and even quasi-war that had risen up 
with our old ally, France. He accepted on con- 
dition of receiving no pay or emolument until 
actually called into the field. Nevertheless this 
conditional acceptance threw upon him burden- 
some duties. It exposed him to "many official 
calls, to a heavy correspondence, and to a flow of 



56 WASHINGTON 

company." It is so he expresses himself. In 
this conjunctnre he writes to his attached friend 
and faithful secretary Mr. Lear. Under date of 
Angust the second, 1798, from Monnt Vernon, he 
describes to him those fresh dnties as hindrances 
to putting his private affairs in that order so ne- 
cessary before he embarked in new scenes ; it 
being his desire, before quitting the scene of hu- 
man action, to leave his concerns in such a condi- 
tion as to give as little trouble as possible to those 
who would have the management of them after- 
wards. Under this view of his situation he had 
written to the Secretary of War to be informed 
whether he was at liberty to appoint his secretary, 
who should be entitled to the usual and proper 
allowances; and concludes with asking Mr. Lear 
if he would join him in that capacity if the Se- 
cretary of War ansAvered in the affirmative. Mr. 
Lear assents. 

This is the last letter in the series. I learn 
from Mrs. Lear that others not in this collection, 
bespeaking a high degree of intimacy and confi- 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 67 

dencc, were written to her husband by tlic same 
hand. This may well be conceived when it is 
known that Mr. Lear's connection with this illus- 
trious man began prior to the year '86, and con- 
tinued until his death in '99 ; that he was at his 
bedside when he died, and drew up the authentic 
narrative, which was verified by the physicians, of 
his last illness, from its commencement to the 
closing scene. This was published at that time 
to meet the anxious feelings of his mourning 
countrymen, struck down at first by his death as 
by a shock that went through every heart. 

From one of the letters there dro23ped out, as I 
unfolded it, a slip in Mr. Lear's handwriting, 
dated May the first, 1791, containing the copy of 
a message to General AVashington from Lord 
Cornwallis, of which Captain Truxton had been 
the bearer from the East Indies. His lordship, 
whom Captain Truxton had seen there, being 
then Governor General of India, " congratulated 
General Washington on the establishment of a 



58 WASHINGTON 

happy government in his conntry, and congratu- 
lated the country on the accession of General 
Washington to its Chief Magistracy." The mes- 
sage wished " General Wasliington a long enjoy- 
ment of tranquillity and happiness," adding that, 
for himself (Lord C), he " continued in troubled 
waters." 

I have thus noticed succinctly, perhaps I might 
more appropriately say described, these letters. 
In abridging and connecting the train of them, 
Washington's language is used to the extent that 
will be seen. The style is different from that of 
his official productions and other letters of his vo- 
luminous correspondence. He naturally stepped 
into one more familiar when writing to a confi- 
dential friend on flxmily matters relating to his 
home at Mount Vernon, or as it was to be ar- 
ranged in Philadelphia while he was President. 
But the style has the directness and sincerity of 
all his writings. It is apparent that the letters 
are written without reserve. With two or three 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 59 

exceptions, no copies appear to have been kept ; 
yet everything- is frank and straight-forward. Un- 
derstanding human nature thoroughly under all its 
phases, he deals wisely w4th men in small things as 
in great ; but he does no one injustice. When 
others are acting disingenuously towards him, 
though seeing through it^ he is considerate and 
forbearing, not taking steps hastily, but ready to 
make allowances where they could be made. Dis- 
honesty or suspicion of it he never overlooks. In 
the second letter he suspects his steward of ex- 
travagance in spending too much for supplies of 
the table kept for his upper servants; yet he 
authorizes Mr. Lear to retain him, if, on looking 
into his accounts, he iinds him honest; intimating 
that any successor to him might act in the same 
way, and a dismissal might be only a change 
without a benefit. His reprobation of all dis- 
honesty is seen in more than one of the letters, 
as well as his restrained modes of dealing with it 
whilst affecting only his own interests. 

As regards the minutiee seen in the letters ; the 



GO WASHINGTON 

details respecting his house, furniture, servants, 
carriages, horses, postilions, and so on, these will 
be read with curiosity and interest. They sug- 
gest a new test by which to try Washington, and 
let him be tried by it. We have not before had 
such details from himself. It is for the first time 
the curtain has been so lifted. 

All great men, the very greatest, Caesar, Crom- 
well, Napoleon, Frederick, Peter the Great, Marl- 
borough, Alexander, all on the long list of tower- 
ing names, have had contact with small things. 
No pinnacle in station, no supremacy in excel- 
lence or intellect, can exempt man from this por- 
tion of his lot. It is a human necessity. Wash- 
ington goes into this sphere with a propriety and 
seemliness not always observable in others of his 
high cast, but often signally the reverse. In deal- 
ing with small things, he shows no undue tenacity 
of opinion ; no selfishness ; no petulance ; no mis- 
placed excitements. He never plays the petty 
tyrant. He does not forget himself; he does not 
forget others : he assumes nothing from anv cxal- 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE, 61 

tation in himself, but is reasonable and provident 
in all his domestic and household arrangements. 

Shall we seek for comparisons, or rather con- 
trasts 1 With as much of AVashington's domestic 
portraiture before us as these letters hold up, shall 
we turn to look at others 1 There is no difficulty, 
but in selecting from the vast heap. 

Frederick thought coffee too expensive an in- 
dulgence for common use in liis kingdom, saying 
he was himself reared on beer soup, which was 
surely good enough for peasants and common fel- 
lows, as he called his people. He wrote direc- 
tions to his different cooks with his own liand the 
better to pamper his appetite w^ith every variety 
of the dishes and sauces he liked best. He stinted 
Voltaire in sugar while a guest in his palace, or 
gave it to him cheap and bad. He praised him 
face to face, and ridiculed him behind his back. 
Napoleon played blind-man's buff at St. Helena. 
He lost his temper at his coronation on perceiving 
that some of the princesses of his family who were 
to act as trainbearers were not in their right 



62 WASHINGTON 

places. Caesar was versed in all the ceremonials 
of State. It was said that he would even have 
been a perfect Homan gentleman but for a habit 
of putting one of his fingers in his hair. Yet 
such a master of forms gave grave offence to the 
Roman Senate by not rising when they intended 
him a compliment ; so unwise was he in small 
things. Cromwell in a frolic tlirew a cushion at 
Ludlow, who in turn threw one at him. He be- 
daubed with ink the face of one of the justices, 
who, with Cromwell himself, had just been con- 
demning Charles to the block. Peter the Great 
travelled about with a pet monkey, which uncere- 
moniously jumped upon the King of England's 
shoulder when the latter visited the Czar in Lon- 
don. Some great men have played leap-frog ; some 
practised this affectation, some that. The book of 
history records too amply the child-like diversions 
anions: those who have flourished on the summits 
of renown. We hear of none of this in Washing- 
ton ; no idle whimsies, no studied or foolish eccen- 
tricities ; none of the buffoonery of ripe years. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 63 

They were not in him ; or it' thoy were, self- 
discipline extirpated them, as it did the bad am- 
bition and moral callousness that have disfigured 
too many of the great names of the earth, ancient 
and modern ; wliilst his matchless purity and 
deathless deeds raise him above them all. This 
verdict is already more than half pronounced by 
the most enlightened and scrutinizing portions of 
mankind, and time is silently extending its domain 
as he is longer tried by the parallels of history, 
and by the philosophy of greatness itself 

Before his fame, steadily ascending from its 
adamantine foundation, gave signs that it was to 
encircle the globe, some imagined him too pru- 
dent. Some thought him devoid of sensibility; 
a cold, colossal mass, intrenched in taciturnity, 
or enfolded in a mantle of dignity. The sequel 
disclosed that his complete mastery over passion, 
moving in harmony wdth his other powers and 
faculties, lent its essential aid towards his un- 
rivalled name. Opinion and passion were strong 
in him. The latter existed in vehemence ; but 



64 WASHINGTON 

lio put the curb upon it, turning it into right 
directions, and exckiding it otherwise from influ- 
ence upon his conduct. He stifled liis dislikes ; 
he was siknit under sneers and disparaging innuen- 
does k^st inopportune speech might work injury 
to the great cause confided to him. To the suc- 
cess of that cause he looked steadily and exclu- 
sively. It absorbed his whole soul, and he deter- 
mined to concentrate upon it all his forbearance 
as well as energy. The complicated dangers 
which encompassed it he knew, from his posi- 
tion, sooner and better than others ; but lie would 
not make them public, lest the foe might hear 
them, or others whose prepossessions were un- 
friendly ; preferring that temporary odium should 
rest upon himself Therefore his reserve ; and thus 
it was that the grand results of his life came out 
in manifold blessings to his country ; thus it was 
that some at first distrustful, and others long dis- 
trustful, of his superiority, came to admit it in the 
end. Be it added, that his native good sense 
teaching him the value of social restraint, and his 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 65 

knowledge of tlie world, its approved observances 
in intercourse, the tone of the gentleman on its 
best models ever also graced his public glory. 

An anecdote I derived from Colonel Lear short- 
ly before his death in 1816, may here be related, 
showing the height to which his passion would rise 
yet be controlled. It belongs to his domestic life 
which I am dealing with, having occurred under 
his own roof, whilst it marks public feeling the 
most intense, and points to the moral of his life. 
I give it in Colonel Lear's words as nearly as I 
can, having made a note of them at the time. 

Towards the close of a winter's day in 1791, 
an officer in uniform was seen to dismount in 
front of the President's in Philadelphia, and, 
giving the bridle to his servant, knock at the 
door of his mansion. Learning from the porter 
that the President was at dinner, he said he was 
on public business and had dispatches for the Pre- 
sident. A servant was sent into the dining-room 
to give the information to Mr. Lear, who left the 
table and went into the hall where the officer re- 

9 



66 WASHINGTON 

peatecl what he had said. Mr. Lear replied that, 
as the President's Secretary, he would take charge 
of the dispatches and deliver them at the proper 
time. The officer made answer that he had just 
arrived from the western army, and his orders 
were to deliver them with all promptitude, and 
to the President in person ; but that he would 
wait his directions, Mr. Lear returned, and in 
a whisper imparted to the President what had 
passed. General Washinii^ton ro*;c from the table, 
and went to the officer. He was back in a short 
time, made a word of apology for his absence, but 
no allusion to the cause of it. He had company 
that day. Everything went on as usual. Dinner 
over, the gentlemen passed to the drawing-room 
of Mrs. Washington, which was open in the eve- 
ing. The General spoke courteously to every lady 
in the room, as was his custom. His hours were 
early, and by ten o'clock all the company had 
gone. Mrs. Washington and Mr. Lear remained. 
Soon Mrs. Washington left the room. 

The General now walked backward and forward 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 67 

slowly for some minutes without speaking. Then 
he sat down on a sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear 
to sit down. To this moment there had been no 
change in his manner since his interruption at 
table. Mr. Lear now perceived emotion. This 
rising in him, he broke out suddenly, "//'.s all over 
— St. Claires defeated — routed ; — the officers nearly 
all killed., the men hy wholesale ; the route complete 
— too shocking to think of- — a7id a surprise into the 
bargain /" 

He uttered all this with great vehemence. 
Then he paused, got up from the sofa and walked 
about the room several times, agitated but saying 
nothing. Near the door he stopped short and 
stood still a few seconds, when his wrath became 
terrible. 

" Yes,^' he burst forth, " here on this very spot, 
I took leave of him ; I ivished him success and 
honor ; you have your instructions., I said, from the 
Secretary of War, I had a strict eye to them, and 
will add but one word — beware of a surprise. I 
repeat it, BEWARE OF A SURPRISE— ?/o?^ 



68 . WASHINGTON 

know how the Indians fight us. He rvent off with 
that as my last solemn warning thrown into his ears. 
And ijpt I ! to suffer that army to he cut to pieces, 
hacWd, butchered, tomahawked, hy a .surprise — the 
very thing I guarded him against ! ! O God, O 
God, he's worse than a murderer! how can he 
a7iswer it to his country ; — the blood of the slain is 
upon him — the curse of widows and orphans — the 
curse of Heaven /" 

This torrent came out in tones appalling. 
His very frame shook. It was awful, said Mr. 
Lear. More than once he threw his hands up 
as he hurled imprecations upon St. Clair. Mr. 
Lear remained speechless ; awed into breathless 
silence. 

The roused Chief sat down on the sofa once 
more. lie seemed conscious of his passion, and 
uncomfortable. He was silent. His warmth be- 
ginning to subside, he at length said in an altered 
voice : " This must not go beyond this room.''' An- 
other pause followed — a longer one — when he said 
in a tone quite low, " General St. Clair shall have 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 69 

justice ; I looked hastily throiu/h the dispatches, saw 
the whole disaster but not all the particulars ; I will 
receive him without displeasure ; I will hear him 
icithout prejudice ; he shall have full justice. ^^ 

He was now, said Mr. Lear, perfectly calm. 
Half an hour had gone by. The storm was over ; 
and no sign of it was afterwards seen in his con- 
duct or heard in his conversation. The result is 
known. The whole case was investigated by 
Congress. St. Clair was exculpated and regained 
the confidence Washington had in him when ap- 
pointing him to that command. He had put 
himself into the thickest of the fight and escaped 
unhurt, though so ill as to be carried on a litter, 
and unable to mount his horse without help. 

A passage from one of Mr. Jefferson's letters 
which the historian Sparks records, may here be 
given, as its spirit covers the private as well as 
public life of Washington. Mr. Jefferson with- 
drew his services as Secretary of State from the 
administration of Washington towards the close 
of his first term in the. Presidency. His retire- 



70 WASHINGTON 

mont from that post took place when party spirit 
was violent and bitter in the extreme ; never was 
it more so in the annals of our country ; and it 
w^as known that he had differed from Washington 
on political questions of the greatest importance. 
Nevertheless, writing of him at a later period Mr. 
Jefferson says : " His integrity was most pure ; his 
jiisticc the most inflexible I have ever known ; no 
motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship 
or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He 
was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a Avise, a 
good, and a great man." 

I return to his letters to Mr. Lear. In superin- 
tending his domestic affairs, these letters exhibit 
him as the head of a well-ordered family, himself 
the regulator of it all under maxims that best 
conduce to order because not too rigid. We see 
that he was truly hospitable ; kind ; devoted to his 
kindred whom he gathers around him, interesting 
himself in their education and welfare ; cheering 
them with a welcome at Mount Vernon, and 
soothing them in sickness and sorrow. The kin- 



IN DOMESTIC LIKE. 71 

drcd of Mrs. Washington alike share his solici- 
tudes, paternal care, and constant kindness. All 
this is discernible from the flxcts that drop out 
in these letters. They point to a heart affection- 
ately alive to the best social and family feelings. 
We see his attention to the comfort of his ser- 
vants, slaves, and others. His government of 
them, upper and subordinate, appears to have 
been perfect by his union of discipline with libe- 
rality. He knew that his postilions, if they slept 
over the stable, would carry lights there whether 
he forbade it or not, for they would do it when he 
knew nothing about it and not tell on each other. 
He therefore allowed no sleeping there at all. 

I could not avoid remarking, as characteristic 
throughout the whole of this correspondence, that 
there is never any complaining of his labors. 
Letter-writing alone woidd have been a heavy 
labor to him but for his system and industry. 
Promptitude in using his pen there must neces- 
sarily have been, or he could not have written so 
much. The history of the times Avill show that 



72 WASHINGTON 

when he wrote tliese letters he was simultaneously 
writing others on public business, which, as the 
world knows, he never neglected in any jot or 
tittle no matter what else he miii^ht be doin";. 
The domestic letters must therefore have been 
struck off with great facility. Let us call to 
mind also the more than two hundred volumes of 
folio manuscript of his public correspondence 
which Congress purchased, and then remember 
that the sum of all he wrote is as nothing to what 
he did in his long career of activity in his coun- 
try's service, military and civil. 

Next I remark, as a new corroboration of the 
modesty ever so prominent in him, that not once 
throughout the whole of this correspondence does 
he make any, the slightest, allusion to himself in 
connection with the Revolutionary War, compara- 
tively recent as it then was. Besides that the 
general tenor of the correspondence might have 
supplied occasions for such allusions, special op- 
portunities were at hand while skirting the battle- 
grounds and other localities of his military opera- 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 73 

tioiis ill the war, even in his journeys between 
Mount Vernon and Phihxdelphia; yet they are 
never once made. The casual mention of his 
'''■Old Sergeant Cornelias" whom he happened to 
want as a workman about his grounds at Mount 
Vernon, is the sole reference that could wake up 
the mind to his having had anything to do with 
the Revolution. He had helped to pave the way 
for that great event by the influence of his high 
character thrown into the scale when the early 
questions of resistance or submission were in agi- 
tation; he had helped it on by his attachment to 
constitutional liberty at that epoch though his for- 
tune was at stake, and friendships among the high- 
born and cultivated from the parent State then 
among his associates in Virginia — could a bosom 
like his have been swayed by such thoughts ; he 
had helped it on by the special weight of name he 
had won in arms fighting side by side with the 
proud generals and troops of Britain confident of 
victory, but saved from annihilation by his inborn 
fearlessness and superiority, when death was all 

10 



74 WASHINGTON 

around him and dismay everywhere in Braddock's 
disastrous fight — their silent homage crowning the 
head of their deUverer; his triumphant sword at 
Yorlvtown put the crowning hand to the immortal 
work — the work that founded this great nation ; 
yet we could never infer from a w^ord or hint in 
the course of these letters, from first to last, that 
he had anything to do with the work, except as 
the name oi '''' Sergeant Cornelius'^ incidentally falls 
from his pen with only a rural object. What 
a lesson! Some extol themselves openly. Some 
do it under cover of self-humiliation, called by a 
French writer the pomp of modesty. Washing- 
ton is simply silent; he will slide into no allu- 
sions to the great and glorious work of his life 
in the midst of temptations to it. 

Finally: the charm of these letters is in their 
being so familiar, so out of the sphere of his cor- 
respondence generally, and therefore holding him 
up in lights that seem new. Mankind, long fami- 
liar with the external attributes and grandeur of 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 75 

his character, looking up to his vast fame as hero 
and statesman uncertain which predominates, 
have known less of him at home with his family, 
his relations and his friends. The inner parts 
of his character, the kindlier impulses of his 
nature, his sympathies with those dear to him, 
dependent on him, or looking to him for tlie 
solace of his kindness, seem to have remained less 
publicly known. Mr. Sparks, in his preface to his 
"Life and Writings," remarks that "it must be 
kept in mind that much the larger portion of his 
life passed on a conspicuous public theatre, and 
that no account of it can be written which will 
not assume essentially the air of history." He 
adds, that while in his work " anecdotes are inter- 
woven and such incidents of a private and per- 
sonal nature as are known, they are more rare 
than could be desired." 

The synopsis of the letters which I have given 
may perhaps tend in some small degree to supply 
this desideratum in his illustrious life alouixside of 



76 WASHINGTON 

the more copious anecdotes and reminiscences 
supplied by the patriotic and filial devotion of 
Mr. Custis. This is my humble hope. 

Since the foregoing Letters were received from 
Mrs. Lear, she has favored me with the perusal of 
other manuscripts introducing us to the domestic 
hours of General Washington, Among them is 
a Diary kept by Mr. Lear at Mount Vernon in 
1786, anterior therefore to the time when Wash- 
ington became President. From this document I 
am permitted to copy a passage entire. It is 
dated the 23d of October, '86. Mr. Drayton and 
Mr. Izard, gentlemen of South Carolina, had been 
spending the day at Mount Vernon. After din- 
ner, the company still round the table, AVashing- 
ton was led to speak of Arnold's treason, and Mr. 
Lear wrote down his account of it in his Diary of 
that day. Although history has made us familiar 
with that whole transaction in its essential facts, to 
hear it under such circumstances from the lips of 
Washington, seems to impart to it new interest. 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 77 

We listen with revived curiosity and attention 
when such a narrator speaks. The copy from 
Mr. Lear's Diary, in which is recorded this inter- 
esting dinner- table narrative, is in the words fol- 
lowing : — 

"Mount Vernon, 
Monday, October 23d, 1786. 
"Mrs. AVashington went to Arlington with the 
two children. Sent a letter directed to Mr. Sa- 
muel Storer to the post-office by Charles, who 
went up to town (Alexandria) wdth Master 
Thompson and Lawrence AVashington, who had 
spent their vacation here. Mr. Drayton and Mr. 
Izard here all day. After dinner General AA^ash- 
ington was, in the course of conversation, led to 
speak of Arnold's treachery, when he gave the 
following account of it, which I shall put in his 
own words, thus: 'I confess I had a good opinion 
of Arnold before his treachery was brought to 
light; had that not been the case, I should have 
had some reason to suspect him sooner, for when 



78 WASHINGTON 

he commanded in Philadelphia, the Marquis la 
Fayette brought accounts from France of the arm- 
ament which was to* he sent to co-operate with us 
in the ensuing campaign. Soon after this was 
known, x\rnold pretended to have some private 
business to transact in Connecticut, and on his 
way there he called at my quarters; and in the 
course of conversation expressed a desire of quit- 
ting Philadelphia and joining the army the ensu- 
ing campaign. I told him that it was probable 
we should have a very active one, and that if his 
wound and state of health w^ould permit, I should 
be extremely glad of his services with the army. 
He replied that he did not think his wound 
would permit him to take a very active part; but 
still he persisted in his desire of being with the 
army. He went on to Connecticut, and on his 
return called again upon me. He renewed his 
request of being with me next campaign, and I 
made him the same answer I had done before. 
He again repeated that he did not think his 
wound would permit him to do active duty, and 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 79 

intimated a desire to have the command at West 
Point, I told him I did not think that would 
suit him, as I should leave none in the garrison 
but invalids, because it would be entirely covered 
by the main army. The subject was dropt at 
that time, and he returned to Philadelphia. It 
then appeared somewhat strange to me, that a 
man of Arnold's known activity and enterprise, 
should be desirous of taking so inactive a part. 
I however thought no more of the matter. When 
the French troops arrived at Rhode Island, I had 
intelligence from New York that General Clinton 
intended to make an attack upon them before they 
could get themselves settled and fortified. In 
consequence of that, I was determined to attack 
New York, which would be left much exposed 
by his drawing off the British troops ; and accord- 
ingly formed my line of battle, and moved down 
with the wdiole army to King's ferry, which we 
passed. Arnold came to camp at that time, and 
having no command, and consequently no quar- 
ters (all the houses thereabouts being occupied by 



80 WASHINGTON 

the army), he was obhged to seek lodgings at some 
distance from the camp. While the army was 
crossing at King's ferry, I was going to sec the 
last detachment over, and met Arnold, who asked 
me if I had thought of anything for him. I told 
him that he was to have the command of the light 
troops, which was a post of honor, and which his 
rank indeed entitled him to. Upon this informa- 
tion his countenance changed, and he appeared to 
be quite fallen ; and instead of thanking me, or 
expressing any pleasure at the appointment, never 
opened his mouth. I desired him to go on to my 
quarters and get something to refresh himself, and 
I wonld meet him there soon. He did so. Upon 
his arrival there, he found Col. Tilghman, whom 
he took a-one side, and mentioning what I had 
told him, seemed to express great uneasiness at 
it — as his leg, he said, would not permit him to 
be long on horse-back ; and intimated a great de- 
sire to have the command at West Point. When 
I returned to my quarters, Col. Tilghman informed 
me of what had passed. I made no reply to it — 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 81 

but his behavior struck me as strange and unac- 
countable. In the course of that night, however, 
I received information from New York that Gene- 
ral Clinton had altered his plan and was debarking 
his troops. This information obliged me likewise 
to alter my disposition and return to my former 
station, where I could better cover the country. 
I then determined to comply with Arnold's desire, 
and accordingly gave him the command of the 
garrison at West Point. Things remained in this 
situation about a fortnight, when I wrote to the 
Count Rochambeau desiring to meet him at some 
intermediate place (as we could neither of us be 
long enough from our respective commands to 
visit the other), in order to lay the plan for the 
siege of Yorktown^ and proposed Hartford, where 
I accordingly w^ent and met the Count. On my 
return I met the Chevalier Luzerne towards even- 
ing within about 15 miles of West Point (on his 
way to join the Count at Rhode Island), which I 
intended to reach that night, but he insisted upon 

turning back with me to the next public house ; 
11 



82 WASHINGTON 

where, in politeness to him, I conki not bnt stay 
all night, determining, however, to get to AVest 
Point to breakfast very early. I sent off my bag- 
gage, and desired Colonel Hamilton to go forward 
and inform General Arnold that I would break- 
fast with him. Soon after he arrived at Arnold's 
quarters, a letter was delivered to Arnold which 
threw him into the greatest confusion. He told 
Colonel Hamilton that something required his im- 
mediate attendance at the garrison which was on 
the opposite side of the river to his quarters; and 
immediately ordered a horse, to take him to the 
river; and the barge, which he kept to cross, to 
be ready; and desired Major Franks, his Aid, to 
inform me when I should anive, that he was gone 
over the river and would return immediately. 
When I got to his quarters and did not find him 
there, I desired Major Franks to order me some 
breakfast; and as I intended to visit the fortifica- 
tions I would see General Arnold there. After I 
had breakfasted, I went over the river, and in- 
quiring for Arnold, the commanding officer told 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 83 

me that he had not been there. I Ukewise in- 
quired at the several redoubts, but no one could 
give me any information where he was. The im- 
propriety of his conduct when he knew I was to 
be there, struck me very forcibly, and my mind 
misgave me; but I had not the least idea of the 
real cause. When I returned to Arnold's quarters 
about two hours after, and told Colonel Hamilton 
that I had not seen him, he gave me a packet 
which had just arrived for me from Col. Jemmi- 
soii, wdiich immediately brought the matter to 
light. I ordered Colonel Hamilton to mount his 
horse and proceed with the greatest despatcli to a 
post on the river about eight miles below, in order 
to stop the barge if she had not passed; but it 
was too late. It seems that the letter which Ar- 
nold received which threw him in such confusion 
was from Col. Jemmison, informing him that An- 
dre w^as taken and thut the papers found upon 
him were in his possession. Col. Jemmison, 
when Andre was taken with these papers, could 
not believe that Arnold was a traitor, but rather 



84 WASHINGTON 

thought it was an imposition of the British in 
order to destroy our confidence in Arnold. He, 
however, immediately on their being taken, de- 
spatched an express after me, ordering him to ride 
night and day till he came up with me. The ex- 
press went the lower road, which was the road by 
which I had gone to Connecticut, expecting that 
I would return by the same route, and that he 
would meet me ; but before he had proceeded far, 
he was informed that I was returning by the up- 
per road. He then cut across the country and 
followed in my track till I arrived at West Point. 
He arrived about two hours after, and brought the 
above packet. When Arnold got down to the 
barge, he ordered his men, who were very clever 
fellows and some of the better sort of soldiery, to 
proceed immediately on board the Vulture sloop 
of war, as a flag, which was lying down the river ; 
saying that they must be very expeditious, as he 
must return in a short time to meet me, and pro- 
mised them two gallons of rum if they would exert 
themselves. They did, accordingly ; but when 



IN DOMESTIC LIFE. 85 

they got on board the Yultuve, instead of their 
two gallons of rum, he ordered the coxswain to 
be called down into the cabin and informed him 
that he and the men must consider themselves as 
prisoners. The coxswain was very much aston- 
ished, and told him that they came on board under 
the sanction of a flag. He answered that that 
was nothing to the purpose ; they w^re prisoners. 
But the Captain of the Vulture had more gene- 
rosity than this pitiful scoundrel, and told the 
coxswain that he w^ould take his parole for going 
on shore to get clothes, and whatever else was 
wanted for himself and his companions. He ac- 
cordingly came, got his clothes and returned on 
board. When they got to New York, General 
Clinton, ashamed of so low and mean an action, 
set them all at liberty." 

This closes the account. It terminates also the 
use I have been permitted, through the valued 
friendship of Mrs. Lear, to make of these manu- 
scripts. 

R. E. 



^ 



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V; 



II 



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i 



